Keeping cheese on the trail
Do you guys bring cheese on the trail (day hike or backpacking)? If so, does it keep well without frigeration? Specifically hard cheese.
i took a block of extra sharp cheddar with me when i was out for a week in may. other than getting a little greasy towards the end of the week, it did fine and tasted great.
-tagg
Cheese is one of my favorites. It does fine for a week, but I think the less moisture in it the better.
A little Parmesan shredded on top will liven up nearly anything. A small block of that goes a long way.
Hard cheeses like cheddar, colby, etc tend to last longer. Keep them in the darker cooler parts of your pack.
cheese...
Buy hard cheese in smaller blocks. The longer it stays sealed, the longer it will keep as well. I know that can't live without it.
I wrap the water bladder in a thin mylar foam (car window reflector) and the cheese and wine goes right next to it or under.
Don't forget the knife and corkscrew..... Well I don't use a corkscrew anymore... the new thin film bags are awesome.
There was an Old Man with a owl,
Who continued to bother and howl;
He sat on a rail, And imbibed bitter ale,
Which refreshed that Old Man and his owl. . WOO <Audio
I've had bad experiences with nasty bacteria growing in the "cheese sweat" that accumulated in the plastic bag, resulting in violent illness one morning in Nazca when we had a 7am bus to catch. Bad situation, I couldn't stomach cheese for a week. The harder the better, certainly, but I'm considering cheesecloth.
I usually take a blue cheese so you don't notice the mold right away!
Cheese was the Old World's answer to keeping dairy without refrigeration. Then the New World comes along, invents refrigeration, and dictates that you must refrigerate cheese. Go figure.
I'll carry cheese for the first three to five days, depending on how hot it is. After that, it's peanut butter, a far second in preference.
"Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning
Keeping cheese in the plastic bag is the worst thing to do. Wrap the cheese in brown paper or better yet, cheesecloth (duh!) and it will keep for a long time. The paper or cheese cloth absorbes the mosture and leaves a thin, dry crust on the outside of the cheese, which inhibits the growth of mold. Of course, you need hard cheese. I've carried cheese for over a week in hot weather this way with no problems.
"Your eyes will be opened to a world full of beauty, charm, and adventure"
I always carry lots of cheese! Grated parmesan in a plastic baggie keeps forever and adds lots of taste and calories to any meal. I also carry a block of sharp cheddar but it never seems to last long. Within a couple of days of leaving town, it's all gone! Never had any problems with cheese unless it's really hot.
GA - NJ 2001; GA - ME 2003; GA - ME 2005; GA - ME 2007; PCT 2006
A wise man changes his mind, a fool never will.
—SPANISH PROVERB
Alternatively, get your cheese dipped in wax (or dip it yourself). Keeps indefinitely, plus you can use the wax as a firestarter. Any way you look at it, you'll run out before it has a chance to go bad.
isn't that like - Mad Cow.... No wait "Laughing Cow!"Originally Posted by Hikes in Rain
There was an Old Man with a owl,
Who continued to bother and howl;
He sat on a rail, And imbibed bitter ale,
Which refreshed that Old Man and his owl. . WOO <Audio
i take cheese in the winter. lasts til spring
I've had cheese get very greasy from not being refrigerated, but didn't affect the taste and I never got sick. I don't believe I could keep cheese long enough to go bad; the only problem I ever had with cheese was rationing.
"The aim of science is to make difficult things understandable in a simpler way; the aim of poetry is to state simple things in an incomprehensible way. The two are incompatible."
-- Paul Dirac
In my opinion, this is one of the better threads on the topic:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...ghlight=Cheese
isn't that like - Mad Cow.... No wait "Laughing Cow!"I'd think cows that laugh would be quite mad!
But that's one. I was actually thinking of the small rounds of smoked gouda and similar. Baby bells would work, too, but they're pretty small.
I recall the Italian deli I shopped at in grad school. They had a ginormous wheel of Parmesan cheese setting on the counter. It must have taken a long time to sell that much cheese so I'm sure it sat there for weeks.
Two things I always take with me. Cheese and whiskey. I've carried all kinds of cheese. If you have too worry about it lasting over a week You are carrying too much. I carried Wally World Great Value Colby Five days in VA this past summer in July when the temps went over 100*. It was fine got kind of oily and lost its shape but was still tasty. The stuff I get at the local deli holds up better and my wife gets this low fat cheese that has a dry consistency but holds up very well on the trail.
Alcohol was involved!
So does the "If you have too worry about it lasting over a week You are carrying too much." rule apply to the whiskey too???
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